Profitablyhttp://www.businessinsider.com/category/profitably
en-usSun, 02 Aug 2015 20:46:51 -0400Sun, 02 Aug 2015 20:46:51 -0400The latest news on Profitably from Business Insiderhttp://static3.businessinsider.com/assets/images/bilogo-250x36-wide-rev.pngBusiness Insiderhttp://www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/these-are-the-10-most-profitable-healthcare-companies-2015-5These are the 10 most profitable healthcare companies http://www.businessinsider.com/these-are-the-10-most-profitable-healthcare-companies-2015-5
Thu, 07 May 2015 15:27:00 -0400Keith Speights
<p>$3 trillion. That's a staggering figure. And it's roughly how much is spent on healthcare each year in the U.S. alone. With that much money changing hands, there are plenty of companies making lots of profit. But which are the most profitable?</p>
<p>The best metric to use in answering this question is profit margin -- the amount of profit made as a percent of revenue. Below are the 10 most profitable healthcare companies based on profit margin with market caps of at least $200 million.</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/554b5cc16bb3f7b91b881fcd-800-496/screen-shot-2015-05-07-at-8.31.52-am.png" alt="10 companies" border="0"></p>
<h3>Birds of a feather?</h3>
<p>Several of the 10 most profitable healthcare companies have things in common. For example, seven of the companies listed are biotechs. The three exceptions to this -- AMAG, POZEN and Taro -- are pharmaceutical companies that don't fit under the biotech umbrella. Healthcare includes hospitals, medical device makers, software companies, insurers, and others, but none of them made the top 10 for profitability.</p>
<p>When it comes to profitability, it appears that small is big. Seven on the list have market caps well below the $3 billion, qualifying them as small cap stocks. Taro's market cap is the least of the three outliers at a little over $6 billion. Shire's market cap stands at nearly $48 billion. Meanwhile, Gilead Sciences is worth more than all other nine companies combined -- with a market cap topping $157 billion.</p>
<p>There's another perhaps counter-intuitive similarity among most of the top 10: relatively low valuation. Only one company on the list carries a trailing 12-month earnings multiple that is higher than that of the S&amp;P 500 index -- ANI Pharmaceuticals, which has a P/E of 24. Eight of the companies claim earnings multiples below 15.</p>
<p>Of course, investors often look more closely at valuation levels based on future earnings estimates. Several of the most profitable healthcare companies look relatively inexpensive on that front, also. Three have current share prices that are less than 10 times their forward earnings estimates: AMAG, Gilead and PDL BioPharma. Meanwhile, Enanta, POZEN and Taro all have forward P/E ratios below 15.</p>
<h3>Profitable picks?</h3>
<p>Which of these highly profitable companies could also be the most profitable picks for investors? That's a tough question, because those disclaimers that every financial manager makes about "past performance may not be indicative of future results" can also apply to individual stocks.</p>
<p>PDL BioPharma, for example, makes its money primarily through royalties from drugs that it has licensed to other companies. 71% of its revenue in 2014 came from drugs licensed to Genentech. However, that revenue dries up after the first quarter of 2016. While PDL is working hard to forge deals to make up the gap, there is considerable risk that the company won't be as profitable in the future.</p>
<p>I also suspect that AMAG Pharmaceuticals could be in for some challenges. Nearly 70% of its 2014 sales stemmed from iron-replacement drug Feraheme. In January, though, <strong>Rockwell Medical</strong> gained FDA approval for Triferic -- an iron-replacement drug that isn't delivered intravenously. Triferic could be a game-changer in ways that make winning more difficult for AMAG.</p>
<p>Several of these companies do appear to have a good shot at continued success, though. My top pick is Gilead Sciences. Gilead has several things going for it. The biotech's hepatitis C drugs are raking in billions while providing a cure for the disease for many. Gilead also dominates the HIV drug market. The company has several up-and-coming drugs in other indications, too. And having a cash stockpile of more than $14 billion to reward shareholders through share buybacks and dividend payouts plus invest in new drugs is a huge plus.</p>
<p>Taro Pharmaceuticals is another one that investors might want to check out. The Israel-based company makes most of its revenue from generic drugs, especially in topical creams, ointments, and gels. Taro has seen steady revenue and earnings increases for the last several years. With lots of merger and acquisition activity among generic drugmakers recently, the company could find itself a buyout target down the road.</p>
<h3>This $19 trillion industry could destroy the Internet</h3>
<p>One bleeding-edge technology is about to put the World Wide Web to bed. And if you act quickly, you could be among the savvy investors who enjoy the profits from this stunning change. Experts are calling it the single largest business opportunity in the history of capitalism... The Economist is calling it "transformative"... But you'll probably just call it "how I made my millions." Don't be too late to the party -- <a href="http://www.fool.com/ecap/stock-advisor/sa-web-goes-dark/?aid=6972&amp;source=isaeditxt0000098">click here for one stock to own</a> when the Web goes dark.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/these-are-the-10-most-profitable-healthcare-companies-2015-5#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-floyd-mayweather-spends-his-money-boxing-2015-4">Here's how Floyd Mayweather spends his millions</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/companies-prosper-despite-chaos-and-death-2014-9Why Wall Street Isn't Freaking Out About The Middle East And Russiahttp://www.businessinsider.com/companies-prosper-despite-chaos-and-death-2014-9
Wed, 24 Sep 2014 18:55:55 -0400Business Insider
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/54202feb6da8116f20ba15e1-1200-600/syria-flag-burning-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Syria flag burning">Islamic State may be a geopolitical threat, but it has not yet posed much of a danger to business. A day's drive from the fighting, in Kurdish-run Iraq, three Western oil firms, Genel Energy, DNO and Gulf Keystone, continue to pump out crude that is piped or sent by road to Turkey. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Their combined market value plunged after IS seized the city of Mosul in June, but has recovered to $8.3 billion, down 29% from the start of the year--a hefty fall, but not so bad for firms on the front line of fanaticism.</span></p>
<p>"We've gone from a place that was a bit tricky in terms of security to a full-on war," says the chief of one firm. But he is confident that the Kurdish region's well-armed militia will protect his business. So far investors have tweaked their financial models, not run for the door. Analysts now assume a cost of capital of 15%, up from 12.5% before IS struck, he says.</p>
<p>That mix of instability and business-as-usual is true of the world at large. In a new book Henry Kissinger, the doyen of foreign-policy strategists, describes a world in which disorder threatens, and violence in Ukraine and the Middle East and tensions in the South China Sea vindicate him. In theory, after 20 years of global expansion, multinationals are more vulnerable than ever.</p>
<p>Listed Western firms have 20-30% of their sales in emerging markets, about double the level in the mid-1990s. It is not just oilmen but tech wizards and sellers of fancy handbags who face political risk. It can range from currency instability, vindictive regulation, curbs on remitting cash back home and production disturbances to sanctions or even nationalisation.</p>
<p>Yet none of the recent geopolitical turmoil has had much impact on firms or financial markets. There have been yelps of pain. Carlsberg, Adidas, Société Générale and others have had share-price falls or made write-offs due to Russia. Overall Russian losses by Western firms amount to $35 billion, based on announced write-offs and the value of a basket of ten companies most exposed to Russia.</p>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/54202a5069bedda734be14cf-782-331/screenshot 2014-09-22 09.53.47.png" border="0" alt="fear gauge 5 year"></p>
<p>But that is a drop in the multinational ocean. An index of political risk calculated by Dun &amp; Bradstreet, an analysis firm, is at its highest level since 1994 (partly as a result of the euro-zone crisis). But the VIX index, which measures the implied volatility of America's stockmarket, and is also known as the "fear gauge", is near a 20-year low.</p>
<p>One explanation is obvious: the places suffering conflict are politically important but economically small. The Middle East, north Africa, Russia and Ukraine together produce just 7% of world economic output. They are mere "flesh wounds", says the head of a Wall Street bank. Only 2% of the stock of foreign investment by American, Japanese and British firms is in these places.</p>
<p>Many bosses are more worried by American lawyers than jihadis. Multinationals' central nervous systems--their financial operations and computer servers--are still typically based in the West, Singapore or Japan. In 1973, 1979 and 1990 the oil price transmitted unrest in the Middle East across the world, but the world's energy mix has shifted away from oil since then, and America has lots of shale gas. Loose monetary policy has also buoyed markets.</p>
<p>Companies have so far proved better than expected at absorbing risk. This has little to do with the advice of political pundits and a lot to do with common sense. One boss says there is no substitute for getting directors to visit operations. "You get a sense of what is going on. It's a lot better than sitting in a boardroom with nice charts and the latest 30-year-old analyst telling you what is happening in Africa."</p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/54202bee69bedd0545be14ce-889-1127/rtr45t91 jpg.jpg" border="0" alt="Iraq oil map"></p>
<h3>Crisis, or opportunity?</h3>
<p>For a start, it is possible to grind out profits in troubled places. Lafarge, a French cement giant, has operations across the Middle East and north Africa. Sales there have risen slightly since 2009 and gross operating profits are now $1.5 billion a year. MTN, a South African mobile-telecoms firm with a thirst for danger, has a division in Syria (and in Sudan and Iran) where gross operating profits rose by 56% in the first six months of this year.</p>
<p>Most multinationals have reduced their risks. The subprime and euro-zone crises inadvertently helped: big firms typically carry more cash than before, making them less exposed to a credit-market freeze. GE has twice as much cash as it had in 2006. And most big firms have pursued a policy of geographic diversification. An excessive concentration on one country is a classic mistake.</p>
<p>After China's revolution in 1949 HSBC, then a purely Asian bank, lost half its business. Iran's nationalisation in 1951 of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company's assets devastated the firm, a precursor of BP.</p>
<p>There are modern echoes of these episodes. Repsol, a Spanish oil firm, fell in love with Argentina, leaving it vulnerable when YPF, the firm it bought there, was nationalised in 2012. First Quantum, of Canada, had made a third of its profits from a mine that the Democratic Republic of Congo nationalised in 2009. But as they have expanded over the past two decades, multinationals have spread themselves more.</p>
<p>Only a dozen big, global, listed firms have over a tenth of their sales in Russia. BP is the country's largest foreign investor but gets only about 10% of its value from its stake in Rosneft, an oil giant. McDonald's Moscow outlets, once a symbol of détente, are temporarily shut, victims of a diplomatic tit-for-tat. Even so, the burger giant makes less than 5% of its profits in Russia.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/54202d8a6da811b210ba15e7-1200-600/mcdonalds-russia-5.jpg" border="0" alt="mcdonald's russia"></p>
<p>This picture is true in other hotspots. Telefonica, a Spanish firm, and Procter &amp; Gamble (P&amp;G), together have billions of dollars trapped in Venezuela, which has introduced capital controls. But it represents less than 5% of their sales. Ben van Beurden, the boss of Royal Dutch Shell, recently said diversification is "the only way to inoculate yourself".</p>
<p>As well as boosting their liquidity and hedging their bets, firms have got cleverer at running their production networks. The cliché of a rickety global supply chain that fails if a single link breaks is still sometimes true. Floods in 2011 in Thailand, a hub for making hard drives, disrupted the global computer industry.</p>
<p>But whereas emerging countries were once just a source of production for rich ones, now they are a source of demand, too, allowing production to be organised into more robust regional cells and providing a natural currency hedge. Alan Lafley, the boss of P&amp;G, has said 95% of its production is in the region where the goods in question are sold.</p>
<p>Very large firms can reallocate output around the world. ArcelorMittal, which paid $5 billion for a steel mill in Ukraine in 2005, is now selling its slabs outside that country.</p>
<p>William Fung of Li &amp; Fung, the world's biggest sourcing company, serving big retailers such as Walmart, says that since Lehman Brothers' collapse, most firms have become more careful to ensure that they have backup plans.<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">"People wound their supply chains up too tight, until it became dangerous. What they have learned in the past five years is that you need some slack in your supply chain--you are not aiming for 100% efficiency...You need resilience, too."</span></p>
<p>Is geopolitical risk exaggerated? Executives admit there are catastrophic scenarios that keep them awake at night. Tensions with Russia could escalate, leading to much tighter sanctions and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/europe-could-barely-survive-russian-gas-cut-off-2014-9" target="_blank">prompting Russia to turn off the supply of gas to Europe</a>. An overthrow of Saudi Arabia's geriatric monarchy could make oil prices soar. And everyone is scared of political instability or an economic slump in China. It is simply too large, both as a centre of production and as a market, to ignore.</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/54202e9069beddd34dbe14e9-1200-924/russia-currency-exchange.jpg" border="0" alt="Russia currency exchange"></p>
<p>The Wall Street boss says, "This is China's century but not every year will be its year. When it has a bad year, everyone will panic." Another bank chief says a China blow-up is "inevitable". The head of a huge multinational says he fears a war between China and Japan.</p>
<p>Although geopolitics might not destroy today's multinational corporations, they may alter their investment plans. After a row over the Senkaku/Daioyu islands in 2012, Japanese firms faced boycotts in China and their exports to it fell by a fifth.</p>
<p>They recovered, but Japanese firms have cut investment in China: the share of Japanese foreign direct investment going there has halved since 2010, to 7%.</p>
<p>Likewise, Russia's conflict with the West over Ukraine has impaired its ability to attract capital to upgrade its creaking energy industry. And strife in Libya and Egypt has damaged north Africa's hopes of becoming a production hub for Europe. Like countries, multinational companies have no permanent allies--only permanent interests.</p>
<p>Click <a href="https://subscriptions.economist.com/nwcd">here</a> to subscribe to The Economist.<img class="nc_pixel" src="https://pixel.newscred.com/px.gif?key=YXJ0aWNsZT05MzM0MmY3MjM5OTY5Zjk1MWYwZDIxZDMxMzRkMzIzOSZub25jZT0zNjFkMDdjMy00MDM1LTQ5NzQtYjFjOC00NjE3NzYwZWY1MzImcHVibGlzaGVyPTczMGViODZhYjU5ZjBkNDE5MjZhYzY1YjAxZjgzZTJm" border="0" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="line-height: 1.5em;"></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-countries-taking-syrias-refugees-2014-9#ixzz3Dnd3yAZx" >Here's Which Countries Are Helping Syria's Refugee Crisis — And Which Ones Are Refusing</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/companies-prosper-despite-chaos-and-death-2014-9#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/companies-prosper-despite-chaos-and-death-2014-9Death, Chaos, And Destruction Aren't As Bad For Companies As You'd Thinkhttp://www.businessinsider.com/companies-prosper-despite-chaos-and-death-2014-9
Mon, 22 Sep 2014 10:28:00 -0400
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/54202feb6da8116f20ba15e1-1200-600/syria-flag-burning-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Syria flag burning">Islamic State may be a geopolitical threat, but it has not yet posed much of a danger to business. A day's drive from the fighting, in Kurdish-run Iraq, three Western oil firms, Genel Energy, DNO and Gulf Keystone, continue to pump out crude that is piped or sent by road to Turkey. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Their combined market value plunged after IS seized the city of Mosul in June, but has recovered to $8.3 billion, down 29% from the start of the year--a hefty fall, but not so bad for firms on the front line of fanaticism.</span></p>
<p>"We've gone from a place that was a bit tricky in terms of security to a full-on war," says the chief of one firm. But he is confident that the Kurdish region's well-armed militia will protect his business. So far investors have tweaked their financial models, not run for the door. Analysts now assume a cost of capital of 15%, up from 12.5% before IS struck, he says.</p>
<p>That mix of instability and business-as-usual is true of the world at large. In a new book Henry Kissinger, the doyen of foreign-policy strategists, describes a world in which disorder threatens, and violence in Ukraine and the Middle East and tensions in the South China Sea vindicate him. In theory, after 20 years of global expansion, multinationals are more vulnerable than ever.</p>
<p>Listed Western firms have 20-30% of their sales in emerging markets, about double the level in the mid-1990s. It is not just oilmen but tech wizards and sellers of fancy handbags who face political risk. It can range from currency instability, vindictive regulation, curbs on remitting cash back home and production disturbances to sanctions or even nationalisation.</p>
<p>Yet none of the recent geopolitical turmoil has had much impact on firms or financial markets. There have been yelps of pain. Carlsberg, Adidas, Société Générale and others have had share-price falls or made write-offs due to Russia. Overall Russian losses by Western firms amount to $35 billion, based on announced write-offs and the value of a basket of ten companies most exposed to Russia.</p>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/54202a5069bedda734be14cf-782-331/screenshot 2014-09-22 09.53.47.png" border="0" alt="fear gauge 5 year"></p>
<p>But that is a drop in the multinational ocean. An index of political risk calculated by Dun &amp; Bradstreet, an analysis firm, is at its highest level since 1994 (partly as a result of the euro-zone crisis). But the VIX index, which measures the implied volatility of America's stockmarket, and is also known as the "fear gauge", is near a 20-year low.</p>
<p>One explanation is obvious: the places suffering conflict are politically important but economically small. The Middle East, north Africa, Russia and Ukraine together produce just 7% of world economic output. They are mere "flesh wounds", says the head of a Wall Street bank. Only 2% of the stock of foreign investment by American, Japanese and British firms is in these places.</p>
<p>Many bosses are more worried by American lawyers than jihadis. Multinationals' central nervous systems--their financial operations and computer servers--are still typically based in the West, Singapore or Japan. In 1973, 1979 and 1990 the oil price transmitted unrest in the Middle East across the world, but the world's energy mix has shifted away from oil since then, and America has lots of shale gas. Loose monetary policy has also buoyed markets.</p>
<p>Companies have so far proved better than expected at absorbing risk. This has little to do with the advice of political pundits and a lot to do with common sense. One boss says there is no substitute for getting directors to visit operations. "You get a sense of what is going on. It's a lot better than sitting in a boardroom with nice charts and the latest 30-year-old analyst telling you what is happening in Africa."</p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/54202bee69bedd0545be14ce-889-1127/rtr45t91 jpg.jpg" border="0" alt="Iraq oil map"></p>
<h3>Crisis, or opportunity?</h3>
<p>For a start, it is possible to grind out profits in troubled places. Lafarge, a French cement giant, has operations across the Middle East and north Africa. Sales there have risen slightly since 2009 and gross operating profits are now $1.5 billion a year. MTN, a South African mobile-telecoms firm with a thirst for danger, has a division in Syria (and in Sudan and Iran) where gross operating profits rose by 56% in the first six months of this year.</p>
<p>Most multinationals have reduced their risks. The subprime and euro-zone crises inadvertently helped: big firms typically carry more cash than before, making them less exposed to a credit-market freeze. GE has twice as much cash as it had in 2006. And most big firms have pursued a policy of geographic diversification. An excessive concentration on one country is a classic mistake.</p>
<p>After China's revolution in 1949 HSBC, then a purely Asian bank, lost half its business. Iran's nationalisation in 1951 of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company's assets devastated the firm, a precursor of BP.</p>
<p>There are modern echoes of these episodes. Repsol, a Spanish oil firm, fell in love with Argentina, leaving it vulnerable when YPF, the firm it bought there, was nationalised in 2012. First Quantum, of Canada, had made a third of its profits from a mine that the Democratic Republic of Congo nationalised in 2009. But as they have expanded over the past two decades, multinationals have spread themselves more.</p>
<p>Only a dozen big, global, listed firms have over a tenth of their sales in Russia. BP is the country's largest foreign investor but gets only about 10% of its value from its stake in Rosneft, an oil giant. McDonald's Moscow outlets, once a symbol of détente, are temporarily shut, victims of a diplomatic tit-for-tat. Even so, the burger giant makes less than 5% of its profits in Russia.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/54202d8a6da811b210ba15e7-1200-600/mcdonalds-russia-5.jpg" border="0" alt="mcdonald's russia"></p>
<p>This picture is true in other hotspots. Telefonica, a Spanish firm, and Procter &amp; Gamble (P&amp;G), together have billions of dollars trapped in Venezuela, which has introduced capital controls. But it represents less than 5% of their sales. Ben van Beurden, the boss of Royal Dutch Shell, recently said diversification is "the only way to inoculate yourself".</p>
<p>As well as boosting their liquidity and hedging their bets, firms have got cleverer at running their production networks. The cliché of a rickety global supply chain that fails if a single link breaks is still sometimes true. Floods in 2011 in Thailand, a hub for making hard drives, disrupted the global computer industry.</p>
<p>But whereas emerging countries were once just a source of production for rich ones, now they are a source of demand, too, allowing production to be organised into more robust regional cells and providing a natural currency hedge. Alan Lafley, the boss of P&amp;G, has said 95% of its production is in the region where the goods in question are sold.</p>
<p>Very large firms can reallocate output around the world. ArcelorMittal, which paid $5 billion for a steel mill in Ukraine in 2005, is now selling its slabs outside that country.</p>
<p>William Fung of Li &amp; Fung, the world's biggest sourcing company, serving big retailers such as Walmart, says that since Lehman Brothers' collapse, most firms have become more careful to ensure that they have backup plans.<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">"People wound their supply chains up too tight, until it became dangerous. What they have learned in the past five years is that you need some slack in your supply chain--you are not aiming for 100% efficiency...You need resilience, too."</span></p>
<p>Is geopolitical risk exaggerated? Executives admit there are catastrophic scenarios that keep them awake at night. Tensions with Russia could escalate, leading to much tighter sanctions and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/europe-could-barely-survive-russian-gas-cut-off-2014-9" target="_blank">prompting Russia to turn off the supply of gas to Europe</a>. An overthrow of Saudi Arabia's geriatric monarchy could make oil prices soar. And everyone is scared of political instability or an economic slump in China. It is simply too large, both as a centre of production and as a market, to ignore.</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/54202e9069beddd34dbe14e9-1200-924/russia-currency-exchange.jpg" border="0" alt="Russia currency exchange"></p>
<p>The Wall Street boss says, "This is China's century but not every year will be its year. When it has a bad year, everyone will panic." Another bank chief says a China blow-up is "inevitable". The head of a huge multinational says he fears a war between China and Japan.</p>
<p>Although geopolitics might not destroy today's multinational corporations, they may alter their investment plans. After a row over the Senkaku/Daioyu islands in 2012, Japanese firms faced boycotts in China and their exports to it fell by a fifth.</p>
<p>They recovered, but Japanese firms have cut investment in China: the share of Japanese foreign direct investment going there has halved since 2010, to 7%.</p>
<p>Likewise, Russia's conflict with the West over Ukraine has impaired its ability to attract capital to upgrade its creaking energy industry. And strife in Libya and Egypt has damaged north Africa's hopes of becoming a production hub for Europe. Like countries, multinational companies have no permanent allies--only permanent interests.</p>
<p>Click <a href="https://subscriptions.economist.com/nwcd">here</a> to subscribe to The Economist.<img class="nc_pixel" src="https://pixel.newscred.com/px.gif?key=YXJ0aWNsZT05MzM0MmY3MjM5OTY5Zjk1MWYwZDIxZDMxMzRkMzIzOSZub25jZT0zNjFkMDdjMy00MDM1LTQ5NzQtYjFjOC00NjE3NzYwZWY1MzImcHVibGlzaGVyPTczMGViODZhYjU5ZjBkNDE5MjZhYzY1YjAxZjgzZTJm" border="0" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="line-height: 1.5em;"></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-countries-taking-syrias-refugees-2014-9#ixzz3Dnd3yAZx" >Here's Which Countries Are Helping Syria's Refugee Crisis — And Which Ones Are Refusing</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/companies-prosper-despite-chaos-and-death-2014-9#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/if-you-want-to-a-profitable-business-you-need-to-fire-the-wrong-customers-2013-2If You Want A Profitable Business, You Need To 'Fire The Wrong Customers'http://www.businessinsider.com/if-you-want-to-a-profitable-business-you-need-to-fire-the-wrong-customers-2013-2
Tue, 12 Feb 2013 19:38:00 -0500Vivian Giang
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/511ada1e69bedd802b000000-400-300/woman-window-shopping-2.jpg" border="0" alt="woman window shopping" width="400" height="300" /></p><p>The key to dominating your industry is knowing exactly who the right customers are for your business.&nbsp;</p>
<p><span>In his book&nbsp;</span><span>&ldquo;</span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Exceptionalize-It-Lior-Arussy/dp/0982664826">Exceptionalize It!</a><span>&rdquo; Lior Arussy says that the&nbsp;<span>time that you're spending with the wrong customer is time wasted that you could have been spending with the right one. And the right customers are the only ones who will stick by you through good and bad times.</span></span></p>
<p>Although it may seem like&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">a good strategy to satisfy every customer that comes your way, unless they contribute to your long-term goal,</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;they will end up doing more damage than good. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Arussy,&nbsp;<span>who is the founder of&nbsp;customer research firm Strativity Group and&nbsp;</span><span>has worked with Mercedes-Benz, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/capital-one" class="hidden_link">Capital One</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/fedex" class="hidden_link">FedEx</a> and other industry leaders,&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">says you need to get rid of these&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">unprofitable people by recommending them to one of your competitors, or simply telling them you don't want their business any longer.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">So how do you know who the wrong customers are?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><span>The author says</span></span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;that you first need to&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">pay attention to their expectations.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><span></span></span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Does your business satisfy their needs? If their expectations far exceed what you can do for them, and right now you don&rsquo;t have the resources to meet the level of value that they&rsquo;re expecting every time, then perhaps it is better for them to be customers at a different company.</span></p>
<p>If they&rsquo;re looking for a different type of service or product entirely,&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">you may lose a lot of the right customers by changing your business strategy to satisfy the needs of the wrong ones.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"></span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Second, you need to research your customers.&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">A few years ago, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/sprint" class="hidden_link">Sprint</a> sent letters to a number of its customers and advised them to find new phone carriers because Sprint no longer wanted their business.&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">It turned out, the company decided to send these letters to people who called the call center 50 to 100 times on a monthly basis.</span></p>
<p><span>&ldquo;At that point, it&rsquo;s not that something is wrong with your product, but rather, those are abusive customers,&rdquo; Arussy tells us. &ldquo;They are taking resources away from the customers who are actually profitable.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p><span>For example, if you spent a certain number of hours on the phone with these customers every month, your valued customers would not be able to get a hold of you.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>Marketing guru <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/seth-godin" class="hidden_link">Seth Godin</a> also discusses these "wrong customers" in a&nbsp;<a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/11/choose-your-customers-choose-your-future.html">blog post</a><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;by calling them "</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">angry cheapskates."&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">He writes:</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">"... when you find great customers, they will eagerly co-create with you. They will engage and invent and spread the word.&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">It takes vision and guts to turn someone down and focus on a different segment, on people who might be more difficult to sell at first, but will lead you where you want to go over time."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">If you're a smaller company, Arussy says you can even do some research about your customers by checking out what they're blogging or complaining about. If you find out that someone is repeatedly bashing companies online, it might not be worth it to do business with them.</span></p>
<p><span><span>The bottom line is that &ldquo;you need to get rid of the abusive customers,&rdquo; he says.</span></span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/if-you-want-to-a-profitable-business-you-need-to-fire-the-wrong-customers-2013-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://247wallst.com/2013/01/14/2013s-most-profitable-companies/The 10 Most Profitable Companies Of 2013http://247wallst.com/2013/01/14/2013s-most-profitable-companies/
Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:00:00 -050024/7 Wall St.
<p>These are 24/7 Wall St.&rsquo;s 10 most profitable companies of 2013.</p><p><a href="http://247wallst.com/2013/01/14/2013s-most-profitable-companies/#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-profit-margin-expecations-2012-10CHART OF THE DAY: Corporate Profit Margin Expectations Are Out Of Controlhttp://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-profit-margin-expecations-2012-10
Wed, 10 Oct 2012 10:36:00 -0400Sam Ro
<p>There's a raging debate going on about the historically high <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/corporate-profits-just-hit-an-all-time-high-wages-just-hit-an-all-time-low-2012-6">corporate profit margins</a>.</p>
<p>Most experts think that current margins are <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jeremy-grantham-gmo-q2-letter-profit-margin-twin-pillars-shaky-2012-7">unsustainable</a>, especially given the sluggishness of the economy.</p>
<p>However, strategists like <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/deutsche-bank-david-bianco-sustainable-high-corporate-profit-margins-2012-8">Deutsche Bank's David Bianco</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/schwab-liz-ann-sonders-profit-margins-higher-2012-9">Schwab's Liz Ann Sonders</a> think current levels are totally reasonable given the long-term changes within U.S. corporations.&nbsp; For instance, U.S. companies are increasingly getting business from abroad where operating costs and corporate taxes tend to be lower.</p>
<p>So who's right?</p>
<p>According to the analysts covering those individual companies, profit margins are going to continue on their upward trajectory.</p>
<p>Here's a chart from <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/goldman-sachs" class="hidden_link">Goldman Sachs</a> with the net profti margin expecations of analysts covering S&amp;P 500 companies.&nbsp; As you can see, the strategist at Goldman Sachs are a bit more skeptical than the rest of the street:</p>
<p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5075e6f9eab8ea8964000000-940-705/chart-of-the-day-bottom-up-consensus-forecast-oct-2012.jpg?maxX=618" border="0" alt="chart of the day, bottom-up consensus forecast, oct 2012" width="618" /></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-profit-margin-expecations-2012-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/ways-companies-cash-in-on-election-2012-1010 Ridiculous Ways Companies Are Cashing In On The Electionhttp://www.businessinsider.com/ways-companies-cash-in-on-election-2012-10
Mon, 08 Oct 2012 16:05:00 -0400Megan Willett
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/506f47cdecad04024800002f-400-/companies-cashing-in.jpg" border="0" alt="Companies Cashing In" width="400" /></p><p>Companies looking for a boost in sales during election season are rolling out a bevy of marketing schemes.</p>
<p>Promotions designed to appeal to both sides of the aisle are cropping up the closer we get to November 6. Not only do these tactics reach a greater number of potential customers, but the company's marketing ploys inevitably lead to higher media coverage and free advertising as well.</p>
<p>Whether it's election-themed ads, products, or promotions, everyone is lining up to take advantage of your political leanings.</p><h3>Mayflower Renaissance D.C. Hotel is offering a "Pick Your Party" suite package.</h3>
<img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/506f3ac0eab8ea165000002c-400-300/mayflower-renaissance-dc-hotel-is-offering-a-pick-your-party-suite-package.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p>The <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/renaissance-hotels-kicks-off-election-season-with-lavish-pick-your-party-package-at-the-mayflower-renaissance-dc-hotel-172472361.html">package</a>, which includes a champagne limo moonlight tour of the monuments and a "political swag bag," costs $5,000 per night. You can choose between the Republican or Democrat suite, and partake in the election-themed cocktail menu, which includes the Balanced Budget and Interns And Scandals.</p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>California Tortilla is asking customers to choose between two presidential tortilla bowls to "accurately predict the election."</h3>
<img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/506f3cbe69bedd642c00001a-400-300/california-tortilla-is-asking-customers-to-choose-between-two-presidential-tortilla-bowls-to-accurately-predict-the-election.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p>Obama's bowl is the Chicken Teriyaki Luau Bowl while Romney's is called the Mexican Mitt-Loaf Bowl. Both are $7.29, and the company keeps track of how many "votes" (tortilla bowls) each candidate has (are sold), according to <a href="http://dc.eater.com/archives/2012/09/20/where-to-eat-and-drink-your-election-2012-decision.php#pointmap">Eater</a>.</p>
<p>But California Tortilla isn't the only food chain to have this idea: Boston Market is also getting in on the action by predicting election results by having customers choose between a <a href="http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/oh_cuyahoga/7-Eleven-Boston-Market-get-ready-for-Election-Day-with-food-themed-polls" target="_blank">"left-wing chicken" or "right-wing turkey" bowl</a>.</p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>Cheetos commissioned two portraits of Obama and Romney made entirely of Cheetos pieces.</h3>
<img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/506f39446bb3f7300b000005-400-300/cheetos-commissioned-two-portraits-of-obama-and-romney-made-entirely-of-cheetos-pieces.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p>To drum up some publicity, PepsiCo's Frito-Lay brand commissioned artist&nbsp;Jason Baalman to create <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-and-romney-cheetos-portraits-2012-10" target="_blank">four-foot tall portraits of the candidates</a>.</p>
<p>Cheetos then invited fans to vote on Facebook for who they think should be the next "Big Cheese."</p></p>
<br/><br/><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ways-companies-cash-in-on-election-2012-10#mtv-has-come-up-with-a-weird-fantasy-election-online-game-4">See the rest of the story at Business Insider</a> http://www.businessinsider.com/here-are-the-real-reasons-your-corporate-execs-are-dragging-their-feet-at-work-2012-73 Excuses Managers Can Use To Get Out Of The Officehttp://www.businessinsider.com/here-are-the-real-reasons-your-corporate-execs-are-dragging-their-feet-at-work-2012-7
Wed, 01 Aug 2012 16:21:00 -0400Paul Mandell
<p class="p1"><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/4fac60f1eab8eaef78000016/executive-pinstripe-hoodie.jpg" border="0" alt="Executive Pinstripe Hoodie" /></p><p>As a corporate executive, your job is to provide management and guidance to your team in a challenging market. To do so, you must be aware of the latest developments in your industry, as well as what practices your peers may be using to address them. &nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1">Audio recordings and webinars can provide valuable education on a variety of important topics. &nbsp;However, for many executives, learning can be very hard to do in the office. To do it best, they need to get out of the office and learn in person. Here is why:</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>1. Offices Are Full of Distractions</strong></p>
<p class="p1">The office environment is typically inhospitable to learning. There are client calls, office drop-bys from work colleagues, email, the Internet, and all sorts of other distractions that can make it difficult to stay focused. &nbsp;Getting out of your office is an important step in continuing your learning, and you might be surprised by how much and how efficiently you can learn when you take that leap.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>2. Interaction Improves Comprehension</strong></p>
<p class="p1">Apart from the reduction in distractions, old-fashioned learning provides an opportunity for natural, interactive dialogue. This enables those doing the learning to ask clarification-seeking questions that yield a more comprehensive understanding of the subject matter. To be sure, one can ask and receive responses during an audio call, but technology still has a way to go before what happens by phone or computer yields the same impact as in-person communication.</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>3. Networking Expands Your Resources</strong></p>
<p class="p1">In addition, among the most valuable elements of any live educational seminar or conference is the in-person networking that takes place. Interacting with an audience of peers before or after an educational session is an excellent way both to explore the strategies that those in similar positions are using to address common problems, as well as to benchmark your own efforts. Developing a robust network of similarly situated colleagues ensures a pipeline of information about important industry changes as they happen. &nbsp;And it serves as a valuable resource that you can leverage for guidance or answers when your own team lacks knowledge, or when sensitive topics arise that may be difficult to discuss internally.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1">In an age of corporate cost-cutting, corporate executives must be sensitive to using their budgets wisely. They must focus on being efficient and productive, and there is little room for waste. Though attending events outside the office may seem ill advised in such an economy, there may be no better use of time, and no better opportunity to improve your own performance and optimize departmental efficiency, than by forcing yourself out of the office to learn from experts and interact with your peers.</p>
<p class="p1"><strong>What&rsquo;s The Right Event?</strong></p>
<p class="p1">Of course, not all events are created equal. &nbsp;To make the most of your time outside the office, seek out those events that are small enough to facilitate meaningful rapport-building and a high level of interactivity. &nbsp;And don&rsquo;t be too quick to avoid those events with sponsors; many of those sponsors may offer as much value in improving your personal and department performance as the formal program itself.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/here-are-the-real-reasons-your-corporate-execs-are-dragging-their-feet-at-work-2012-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/startups-sometimes-you-have-to-give-up-on-a-product-even-if-its-making-money-2012-7Hey Startups, Sometimes You Have To Give Up On A Product, Even If It's Making Moneyhttp://www.businessinsider.com/startups-sometimes-you-have-to-give-up-on-a-product-even-if-its-making-money-2012-7
Fri, 13 Jul 2012 10:40:46 -0400Jason Fried
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/4fe39508eab8ea855f000011/thinking-hard-girl.jpg" border="0" alt="thinking hard girl" /></p><p>Lately, we've been taking inventory at 37 signals.</p>
<p>Over the past eight years, we've built more than two dozen apps. Some are available to the public; others are for internal use.</p>
<p>But all of them need to be online and available 24/7/365. This means we've got a lot of balls in the air.</p>
<p>The more balls in the air, the less time each one spends in your hands. And you can't make something better if you aren't constantly touching it. So I recently decided that if we can't dedicate the time to make a product better, it's time to shut it down. Coasting on&mdash;or worse, ignoring&mdash;a product isn't something I ever want to do.</p>
<p>We created an "end of the road" list of products that we haven't worked on in a long time. Among them: Ta-da List, a free, Web-based listmaking app that we created in 2005; Writeboard, a free, online text-editing program; and a few others. We like all of them, but none are essential to our business today. So we decided to retire them. People with existing accounts can keep using Ta-da List, for example, but we're no longer offering new sign-ups. The same is true for Writeboard.</p>
<p>Another product on our list is Sortfolio&mdash;a visual directory of Web design firms that we created in 2009 to help small businesses find designers. Design firms can list their services for free or pay $99 a month to upgrade to a more prominent premium listing. Sortfolio is unique on our list, in that some users pay for it. In fact, it generates actual revenue and significant profits&mdash;some $17,000 a month, or more than $200,000 a year. Nonetheless, we decided it was time to let it go.</p>
<p>Say what? you're probably asking. What entrepreneur voluntarily parts with a profitable service? Isn't making money the whole point? Are we crazy?</p>
<p>Plenty of people think so. When we announced on our company blog that we'd either be selling or retiring Sortfolio, the Comments section went nuts. "Why not just hire someone to run it?" some folks asked. "Just keep running it and give the money away to charity if you don't want it," suggested others. Some commenters offered advice on how we might integrate Sortfolio into our business.</p>
<p>But here's the thing. Sortfolio may be profitable, but it's far less profitable than our other products. As a result, it gets far less of our attention. And given the way things are going, it'll get even less TLC in the future. Sortfolio is standing still. And anything that's standing still is atrophying. That's not good for us, and it's not good for users of Sortfolio, either. Sortfolio needs an entrepreneur who wants to invest time and energy into it&mdash;something we just cannot do. We're a small company with a small team, and we have to use our resources wisely.</p>
<p>So we put it up for sale. We posted the revenue and profit numbers on our blog and offered to provide any information requested by qualified buyers. We priced it at $480,000. For a service that generates $200,000 a year in profit with virtually no work, we think that's very reasonable. If it doesn't sell by July, we'll be taking it offline.</p>
<p>Sure, there were other options. Like some of the commenters on our blog said, we could have hired someone to work only on Sortfolio. But the truth is that helping connect design firms and small companies just isn't part of our core focus anymore. Sortfolio will be a much better business in someone else's hands.</p>
<p>The bottom line: Profits aren't everything. Sometimes you have to prune your winners. That way, you can focus your attention on your bigger winners.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/startups-sometimes-you-have-to-give-up-on-a-product-even-if-its-making-money-2012-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/ubs-corporate-profit-margins-stocks-2012-4UBS: Collapsing Corporate Profit Margins Can Be Great For Stockshttp://www.businessinsider.com/ubs-corporate-profit-margins-stocks-2012-4
Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:52:00 -0400Sam Ro
<p>Profit margins are near historic highs.&nbsp; Believe it or not, analysts expect margins to expand even further.&nbsp; Here's a chart from <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/ubs">UBS</a>, which we've seen before from <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/percentage-of-stocks-likely-to-see-an-increase-in-profit-margins-2012-4">Morgan Stanley</a>.</p>
<p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/4f8cba9fecad044773000013-539-341/chart.png" border="0" alt="chart" width="539" height="341" /></p>
<p><br />Stock market skeptics are concerned that the current rally is largely being driven by high profit margins as well as the expectations for even higher margins.</p>
<p>They worry that a turn in margins could translate to lower profits, which could lead to a sell-off in stocks.</p>
<p>However, the conditions under which margins contract are crucial.</p>
<p>UBS's Global Macro Team led by Chris Ferrarone note that if margins contract due to rising labor costs, profits will still have the ability to grow as an improving economy drives more volume to corporations.</p>
<p>From UBS:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Labour market trends, particularly compensation costs, are critical drivers of profitability. As Chart 4 shows, there are strong linkages between compensation and profits. It&rsquo;s no coincidence that labour market formation in the US over the last few quarters has been followed by a pick up in unit labour costs (Chart 5) and a peaking in profit margins.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">It&rsquo;s also no coincidence that equity markets have moved higher over the last several months. As we&rsquo;ve noted several times recently, the improvement in the global growth backdrop has been a critical support for equities. <strong>Improving labour markets &ndash; and income growth &ndash; while not great for corporate profitability, do support a continued recovery in consumer spending and stronger business confidence. These are critical features for a more sustainable economic backdrop that can translate to lower risk premia and higher valuation multiples and support equity returns in the face of slower growth</strong>.</p>
<p>Here's one of the more counterintuitive charts you'll ever see:</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4f8cbc4cecad04827d00000d/chart.png" border="0" alt="chart" width="453" height="366" /></p>
<p>The income growth argument is not unique to UBS.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/deutsche-bank-income-growth-not-job-growth-2012-4">Deutsche Bank economist Carl Riccadonna</a> recently argued that income growth is actually more important than job growth, which has been disappointing lately.</p>
<p>Ferrarone warns that earnings growth tend to decelerate and stock markets typically exhibit turbulence during these periods of profit contractions.&nbsp; But overall, it seems shrinking margins caused by rising labor costs can be more good than bad.</p>
<p><strong>SEE ALSO: <a href="../../the-nostradamus-awards-the-best-and-worst-economists-of-2011-2012-2">The Best And Worst Economists Of 2011 &gt;</a></strong></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ubs-corporate-profit-margins-stocks-2012-4#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/can-anyone-predict-which-movies-will-make-money-2012-3Can Anyone Predict Which Movies Will Make Money?http://www.businessinsider.com/can-anyone-predict-which-movies-will-make-money-2012-3
Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:16:00 -0400Eric Barker
<p><a href="http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/27668/"><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/4f5e0c2deab8ea1b3600008c/john-carter.jpg" border="0" alt="John Carter" />Twitter can't</a> predict box office:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong>Felix Ming Fai Wong and pals at <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/princeton-university">Princeton University</a> in New Jersey, pour cold water on the idea that <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/twitter">Twitter</a> is a reliable predictor of the future, at least as far as the success of movies is concerned... the Twitter data does not always translate into box office revenue</strong> (although in some cases it can).</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">"Marketers need to be careful about drawing conclusions regarding the net box-office outcome for a movie," conclude Wong and co.</p>
<p>Who can? The <a href="http://www.hsx.com/">Hollywood Stock Exchange</a>.</p>
<p>Via <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004J8HY8A/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=spacforrent-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B004J8HY8A">Secrets of the Moneylab: How Behavioral Economics Can Improve Your Business</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong>In one study by Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse, the correlation HSX prices and actual box-office receipts was .942&mdash;a stunning degree of predictive accuracy for an industry that&rsquo;s notoriously unpredictable.</strong></p>
<p>Oh, and in case you were curious: yes, <a href="http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-movies-getting-worse">movies are getting worse.</a></p>
<p><strong>Follow&nbsp;me</strong>&nbsp;on Twitter <a href="http://www.twitter.com/bakadesuyo/">here</a> or get updates via email <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=bakadesuyo&amp;amp;loc=en_US">here</a>.</p>
<p>Related posts:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-makes-a-great-movie" title="Permalink">What makes a great movie?</a><a href="http://www.bakadesuyo.com/will-watching-shrek-turn-your-kid-into-a-crea" title="Permalink"></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.bakadesuyo.com/will-watching-shrek-turn-your-kid-into-a-crea" title="Permalink">Will watching Shrek turn your kid into a creative genius?</a><a href="http://www.bakadesuyo.com/hamlet-macbeth-othello-why-would-anyone-enjoy" title="Permalink"></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.bakadesuyo.com/hamlet-macbeth-othello-why-would-anyone-enjoy" title="Permalink">Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello... Why would anyone enjoy watching tragedy?</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-anyone-predict-which-movies-will-make-mon">Permalink</a></p>
<p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/SEmtjeaPSNfKt2IoOYH7HEnhycU/0/da"></a></p>
<p><strong>Read more posts on <a href="http://www.bakadesuyo.com/">Barking Up The Wrong Tree &raquo;</a></strong></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/can-anyone-predict-which-movies-will-make-money-2012-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/the-apple-investor-apple-takes-75-of-the-mobile-phone-profits-2012-2THE APPLE INVESTOR: Apple Takes 75% Of The Mobile Phone Profits (AAPL)http://www.businessinsider.com/the-apple-investor-apple-takes-75-of-the-mobile-phone-profits-2012-2
Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:27:57 -0500Heather Leonard
<p><em><strong>The <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/apple">Apple</a> Investor</strong> is a daily report from SAI. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-investor-newsletter-2010-2">Sign up here to receive it by email</a>.</em></p>
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<p><strong><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4c9a15307f8b9aea0a5e0500-400-301/iphone-apps-cash.jpg" border="0" alt="iphone apps cash" width="400" height="301" /><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/apple">AAPL</a> Up In A Down Market</strong> <br />Markets opened lower on Greece fears that the nation is unable to avoid default. The S&amp;P is pulling back after a 5-week rally. Shares of AAPL are up against a negative tech tape. Investors continue to be focused on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/iphone" class="hidden_link">iPhone</a> adoption; update to the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ipad-3-retina-display-2011-7"><span class="hidden_link">iPad</span></a>; market share growth of the Mac business; further penetration in China and emerging markets; the evolution and potential re-conception of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/apple-tv">Apple TV</a>; and platforms such as Siri, iAd, iBooks and social (<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/ping">Ping</a>). Shares of <span class="hidden_link"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/apple" class="hidden_link">Apple</a></span> trade at <a href="https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&amp;key=0Ak6JroN3wjs9dENhY2lvRWtZZy1DYmxFNTBoMFpVTnc&amp;hl=en_US&amp;gid=5">8.2x Enterprise Value / Trailing Twelve Months Free Cash Flow</a> (including long-term marketable securities).</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.asymco.com/2012/02/03/first-apples-rank-in-mobile-phone-profitability-and-revenues/">Apple's iPhone Only 9% Of Mobile Market, But Takes 75% Of Profits</a></strong> <strong>(Asymco)</strong><br />iPhone sales are now large enough to make up 9% of all phones sold. This highlights how rapidly the smartphone is taking over the basic phone market. Not to be outdone, despite that relatively low share of all unit sales, Apple takes in the most revenues and earns by far the most in profit with a whopping three-fourths of the industry's profits.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-bigger-than-microsoft-2012-2">Apple's iPhone Business Is Bigger Than Microsoft, And More Profitable</a></strong> <strong>(<a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/business-insider">Business Insider</a>)</strong><br /><a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/henry-blodget">Henry Blodget</a> at <em>Business Insider</em> highlights <a href="http://parislemon.com/post/16997124721/size-matters">a remarkable fact that tech writer MG Siegler noted</a>: Apple's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/iphone" class="hidden_link">iPhone</a> business alone is now bigger than <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/microsoft"><span class="hidden_link">Microsoft</span></a>. Not <span class="hidden_link"><a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/windows">Windows</a></span>. Not Office. <em>Microsoft.</em> Think about that. The iPhone did not exist five years ago. And now it's bigger than a company that, 15 years ago, was dragged into court and threatened with forcible break-up because it had amassed an unassailable and unthinkably profitable monopoly. The iPhone is also considerably more profitable than Microsoft.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/2012/02/motorola-wants-225-of-apples-sales-in.html">Motorola Wants 2.25% Of All Apple's iPhone Sales</a> (FOSS Patents)</strong><br />Apple filed an obscure legal brief in late January revealing, perhaps inadvertently, something that is usually a closely guarded industry secret: the terms of a royalty agreement to license a key piece of patented technology. A technology that Apple needed and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/motorola">Motorola</a> owned. In exchange, according to the document, <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/motorola">Motorola</a> wants 2.25% of Apple's iPhone sales up to and including the <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/iphone-4">iPhone 4</a>. For fiscal years 2007 through 2011, revenue from those iPhone sales totaled $92.64 billion. That's a $2.08 billion cut.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://gigaom.com/apple/satisfaction-survey-shows-why-apples-ipad-will-remain-on-top/">Customer Satisfaction Through The Roof For The iPad, Kindle Fire Not So Much</a> (GigaOM)</strong><br />According to a ChangeWave report, iPad&rsquo;s customer satisfaction is through the roof while <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/amazon">Amazon&rsquo;s</a> <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/kindle">Kindle</a> barely exceeds the satisfaction level of the rest of the tablet pack. Seventy-four percent of survey respondents said they were &ldquo;Very Satisfied&rdquo; with the iPad, while only 54% said they were &ldquo;Very Satisfied&rdquo; with the <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/kindle-fire">Kindle Fire</a>. The differential came down to what many users seemed to feel were missing features.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.canalys.com/newsroom/smart-phones-overtake-client-pcs-2011">For The First Time Ever, Smartphones Outsold PCs Last Quarter</a></strong><a href="http://www.canalys.com/newsroom/smart-phones-overtake-client-pcs-2011"></a><strong> (Canalys)</strong><br />Quarterly smartphone sales outpaced PC sales in the fourth quarter of 2011. In fact, it wasn't even close. Mobile market research firm <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/for-the-first-time-ever-smartphones-are-outselling-pcs-2012-2">Canalys estimated that 158.5 million smartphones were sold in the last quarter, compared with 120.2 million personal computers</a> (including tablets). And the iPad accounted for most of the growth among computers.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-apple-investor-apple-takes-75-of-the-mobile-phone-profits-2012-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/01/case_study_when_to_drop_an_unp.htmlCase Study: When To Drop An Unprofitable Customerhttp://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/01/case_study_when_to_drop_an_unp.html
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:39:05 -0500Harvard Business Review
<p>As Tommy Bamford and Jane Oldenburg drove into the visitor section of Westmid Builders' car park, Jane pointed out the man they had come to see: Steve Houghton, Westmid's purchasing executive. He was in front of the headquarters building, waving a greeting. Jane waved back to her friend, whom she had known for decades, but Tommy scowled. He wasn't looking forward to this visit. "Oh, come on," Jane said, nudging him. "Look how friendly he is."</p><p><a href="http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/01/case_study_when_to_drop_an_unp.html#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-profit-2012-1Apple Makes More Money Per Employee Than Exxon And Google (AAPL)http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-profit-2012-1
Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:41:00 -0500Dylan Love
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4f0b1d6d69bedd017a00000d/apple-employees.jpg" border="0" alt="apple employees" /></p><p><a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/apple">Apple</a> earned $400,000 in profit per employee last year, <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46091572/ns/business-us_business/t/why-apple-says-it-cant-build-iphone-us/#.Tx01jmPC5e4">reports MSNBC</a>.</p>
<p>This is at least partially due to Apple nailing its global operations -- Apple believes that overseas factories are more flexible and the workers are more affordable while offering more industrial skills than workers in the US.</p>
<p>When asked about bringing these jobs to the US, an Apple spokesman <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46091572/ns/business-us_business/t/why-apple-says-it-cant-build-iphone-us/#.Tx01jmPC5e4">told MSNBC that</a> &ldquo;we sell iPhones in over a hundred countries. We don&rsquo;t have an obligation to solve America&rsquo;s problems. Our only obligation is making the best product possible.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Apple's huge $400,000 in profit per employee is more than <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/goldman-sachs">Goldman Sachs</a>, <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/exxon">Exxon</a> Mobil, or <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/google">Google</a>.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-profit-2012-1#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/republicans-say-occupy-obama-2011-11Republicans Say 'Occupy Obama'http://www.businessinsider.com/republicans-say-occupy-obama-2011-11
Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:38:59 -0500Zeke Miller
<p>A new Republican National Committee fact sheet mocks President Barack Obama's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/white-house-ties-obama-to-occupy-wall-street-2011-10">embrace</a> of Occupy Wall Street protesters, noting that during his administration, Wall Street has "roared back" from the financial crisis.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Titled "Occupy Obama," the memo implies that Obama has favored Wall Street at the expense of average Americans.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bank-profitability-under-obama-and-bush-2011-11">As Joe Weisenthal points out, </a>Wall Street profits do not provide a complete look at the health of the financial sector, which has contracted considerably while Obama has been in office.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.gop.com/index.php/research/comments/4471/"><em>Read the memo below:</em></a></p>
<h2 align="center">UNDER OBAMA, &ldquo;WALL STREET HAS ROARED BACK&rdquo;</h2>
<p><strong>&ldquo;During Obama&rsquo;s Tenure, Wall Street Has Roared Back, Even As The Broader Economy Has Struggled.&rdquo;&nbsp;</strong>&ldquo;But both sides face an inconvenient fact: During Obama&rsquo;s tenure, Wall Street has roared back, even as the broader economy has struggled.&rdquo; (Zachary A Goldfarb, &ldquo;Wall Street&rsquo;s Resurgent Prosperity Frustrates Its Claims, And Obama&rsquo;s,&rdquo;&nbsp;<em><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/wall-streets-resurgent-prosperity-frustrates-its-claims-and-obamas/2011/10/25/gIQAKPIosM_print.html">The Washington Post</a>,&nbsp;</em>11/6/11)</p>
<p><strong>&ldquo;The Largest Banks Are Larger Than They Were When Obama Took Office&rdquo; And Their Profits Are Near The Same Heights As They Were In 2008.</strong>&nbsp;&ldquo;The largest banks are larger than they were when Obama took office and are nearing the level of profits they were making before the depths of the financial crisis in 2008, according to government data.&rdquo;&nbsp; (Zachary A Goldfarb, &ldquo;Wall Street&rsquo;s Resurgent Prosperity Frustrates Its Claims, And Obama&rsquo;s,&rdquo;&nbsp;<em><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/wall-streets-resurgent-prosperity-frustrates-its-claims-and-obamas/2011/10/25/gIQAKPIosM_print.html">The Washington Post</a>,&nbsp;</em>11/6/11)<strong>&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p><strong>Wall Street Firms Have &ldquo;Earned More In The First 2<sup>1</sup>&nbsp;/&nbsp;<sub>2&nbsp;</sub>Years Of The <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/obama-administration">Obama Administration</a> Than They Did During The Eight Years Of The George W. Bush Administration.&rdquo;</strong>&nbsp;&ldquo;Wall Street firms &mdash; independent companies and the&nbsp;securities-trading arms of banks&nbsp;&mdash; are doing even better. They earned more in the first 2<sup>1</sup>&nbsp;/&nbsp;<sub>2&nbsp;</sub>years of the Obama administration than they did during the eight years of the George W. Bush administration, industry data show.&rdquo; (Zachary A Goldfarb, &ldquo;Wall Street&rsquo;s Resurgent Prosperity Frustrates Its Claims, And Obama&rsquo;s,&rdquo;&nbsp;<em><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/wall-streets-resurgent-prosperity-frustrates-its-claims-and-obamas/2011/10/25/gIQAKPIosM_print.html">The Washington Post</a>,&nbsp;</em>11/6/11)<strong>&nbsp;</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Securities Firms Have Made Over $83 Billion In Profit Since Obama Became President, Compared To $77 Billion In The Previous 8 Years.&nbsp;</strong>&ldquo;Securities firms &mdash; the trading arms of big banks and hundreds of other independent firms &mdash; have fared even better. They&rsquo;ve generated at least $83 billion in profit during the past 21 / 2 years, compared with $77 billion during the entire Bush administration, according to data from the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.&rdquo; (Zachary A Goldfarb, &ldquo;Wall Street&rsquo;s Resurgent Prosperity Frustrates Its Claims, And Obama&rsquo;s,&rdquo;&nbsp;<em><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/wall-streets-resurgent-prosperity-frustrates-its-claims-and-obamas/2011/10/25/gIQAKPIosM_print.html">The Washington Post</a>,&nbsp;</em>11/6/11)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>&ldquo;Since Obama Became President, The Largest, $100 Billion-Plus Banks, Which Were At The Center Of The Financial Crisis, Have Grown In Size By 10 Percent.&rdquo;&nbsp;</strong>(Zachary A Goldfarb, &ldquo;Wall Street&rsquo;s Resurgent Prosperity Frustrates Its Claims, And Obama&rsquo;s,&rdquo;&nbsp;<em><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/wall-streets-resurgent-prosperity-frustrates-its-claims-and-obamas/2011/10/25/gIQAKPIosM_print.html">The Washington Post</a>,&nbsp;</em>11/6/11)<strong>&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p><strong>The Largest Banks Collected $34 Billion In Profits During The First Half Of 2011, Almost The Amount They Earned In The First Half Of 2007.&nbsp;</strong>&ldquo;The largest banks, which include <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/bank-of-america">Bank of America</a>, Citigroup and <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/wells-fargo">Wells Fargo</a>, earned $34 billion in profit in the first half of the year, nearly matching what they earned in the same period in 2007 and more than in the same period of any other year.&rdquo; (Zachary A Goldfarb, &ldquo;Wall Street&rsquo;s Resurgent Prosperity Frustrates Its Claims, And Obama&rsquo;s,&rdquo;&nbsp;<em><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/wall-streets-resurgent-prosperity-frustrates-its-claims-and-obamas/2011/10/25/gIQAKPIosM_print.html">The Washington Post</a>,&nbsp;</em>11/6/11)</p>
<p><strong><em>It Looks Like &ldquo;Their Campaign Contributions Paid Off Very Well For Them&rdquo;</em></strong>&nbsp;</p>
<p><iframe width="420" height="315" frameborder="0" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RE6iKYMk2Lc"></iframe></p>
<p align="center"><strong><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE6iKYMk2Lc">Watch The Clip Here</a></strong></p>
<p><strong><a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/mika-brzezinski">Mika Brzezinski</a><em>:</em></strong><em>&nbsp; &ldquo;The <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/washington-post">Washington Post</a></em>&nbsp;this morning is reporting on new government data that shows profits for America's largest financial firms are once again reaching record highs not seen sense before the financial crisis of 2008. In fact, Wall Street firms have earned more in the first two and a half years of the Obama presidency than all 8 years of the Bush presidency. Over 85 billion dollars in profits compared to 77 billion.&rdquo;&nbsp;<strong><a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/joe-scarborough">Joe Scarborough</a>:</strong>&nbsp; &ldquo;Wait- you mean in the first two years they made more than in eight years than in the Bush administration?&rdquo;&nbsp;<strong>Brzezinski:</strong>&nbsp; &ldquo;That's correct.&rdquo;&nbsp;<strong>Scarborough:</strong>&nbsp; &ldquo;<span>Well, their campaign contributions paid off very well for them then</span>.&rdquo;(<em><a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/msnbc">MSNBC</a></em>&rsquo;s &ldquo;<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE6iKYMk2Lc">Morning Joe</a>&rdquo; 11/7/11) &nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Obama Has &ldquo;Not Shunned Wall Street,&rdquo; Raking In Campaign Funds And Inviting Them To The White House For Closed Door Campaign Meetings.&nbsp;</strong>&ldquo;The president, however, has not shunned Wall Street. He has courted financial executives for campaign donations, including&nbsp;inviting them to a campaign gathering at the White House.&rdquo; (Zachary A Goldfarb, &ldquo;Wall Street&rsquo;s Resurgent Prosperity Frustrates Its Claims, And Obama&rsquo;s,&rdquo;&nbsp;<em><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/wall-streets-resurgent-prosperity-frustrates-its-claims-and-obamas/2011/10/25/gIQAKPIosM_print.html">The Washington Post</a>,&nbsp;</em>11/6/11)<strong>&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p><strong>Obama Has Raised $15.6 Million From Wall Street For His Reelection Effort, More Money From &ldquo;Than All Of The GOP Candidates Combined.&rdquo;&nbsp;</strong>&ldquo;He has attracted&nbsp;more money for his campaign&nbsp;and for the Democratic National Committee from financial firm employees than all of the GOP candidates combined &mdash; a total of $15.6&nbsp;million.&rdquo; (Zachary A Goldfarb, &ldquo;Wall Street&rsquo;s Resurgent Prosperity Frustrates Its Claims, And Obama&rsquo;s,&rdquo;&nbsp;<em><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/wall-streets-resurgent-prosperity-frustrates-its-claims-and-obamas/2011/10/25/gIQAKPIosM_print.html">The Washington Post</a>,&nbsp;</em>11/6/11)</p>
<p align="center"><strong>OBAMA&rsquo;S OWN &ldquo;WALL STREET GUY,&rdquo; AND A LEADING FUNDRAISER FOR HIS REELECTION CAMPAIGN, IS BEING INVESTIGATED BY THE FBI FOR ALLEGEDLY MISUSING CLIENTS&rsquo; MONEY</strong></p>
<p><strong>President Obama: Jon Corzine Is &ldquo;Our Wall Street Guy.&rdquo;</strong>&nbsp;&ldquo;The rollout also provided a showcase for Corzine, the former <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/goldman-sachs">Goldman Sachs</a> CEO whom Obama referred to as &lsquo;our Wall Street guy&rsquo; at a meeting of Democratic governors in Chicago on Friday.&rdquo; (Claire Heininger, &ldquo;Corzine Profile Rises In Obama Camp,&rdquo;&nbsp;<em><a href="http://link.sc.states.gop.com/?262-1242-1244-757-23687">The Star-Ledger (NJ),</a></em>6/23/08)</p>
<p><strong>Corzine&rsquo;s Wall Street Firm, <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/mf-global">MF Global</a> Has Filed For Bankruptcy.&nbsp;</strong>&ldquo;Broker-dealer&nbsp;MF Global, headed by former&nbsp;New Jersey&nbsp;governor and Goldman Sachs&nbsp;chairman John Corzine, has filed for bankruptcy protection, apparently because of holdings of European debt.&rdquo; (&ldquo;Broker-Dealer MF Global Files For Bankruptcy,&rdquo;&nbsp;<em><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/brokerage/story/2011-10-31/mf-global/51011564/1">USA Today</a>,&nbsp;</em>10/31/11)</p>
<p><strong>Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars In Customer Money Has Gone Missing From&rdquo; Corzine&rsquo;s Firm</strong>. &ldquo;Federal regulators have discovered that hundreds of millions of dollars in customer money has gone missing from MF Global in recent days, prompting an investigation into the brokerage firm, which is run by Jon S. Corzine, the former New Jersey governor, several people briefed on the matter said on Monday.&rdquo; (Ben Protess,&nbsp;Michael J. De La Merced&nbsp;And&nbsp;Susanne Craig, &ldquo;Regulators Investigating Mf Global For Missing Money,&rdquo;&nbsp;<em>The New York Times&rsquo;&nbsp;</em>&ldquo;<a href="http://link.sc.states.gop.com/?262-1242-1244-757-23698">Dealbook</a>,&rdquo; 10/31/11)</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>&ldquo;As Of Friday, $593 Million Remained Missing From Customer Trading Accounts, According To A Person Familiar With The Regulatory Probe Of The Collapsed Firm.&rdquo;&nbsp;</strong>(Scott Patterson, &ldquo;MF Global Client Funds Still Missing,&rdquo;&nbsp;<em><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203716204577019894171422870.html?mod=googlenews_wsj">The Wall Street Journal,</a>&nbsp;</em>11/6/11)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Corzine, One Of Obama&rsquo;s &ldquo;Leading Wall Street Fundraisers,&rdquo; Is Now &ldquo;The Center Of An FBI Investigation.&rdquo;&nbsp;</strong>&ldquo;Jon Corzine, now the center of an FBI investigation into the handling of hundreds of millions of dollars invested in his securities firm, was one of the leading Wall Street fundraisers for President Obama&rsquo;s campaign and suggested to investors that he might take a top administration post if the president were re-elected.&rdquo; (Michael Isikoff, &ldquo;Corzine, Top Obama Fundraiser, Under FBI Investigation,&rdquo;&nbsp;<em><a href="http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/02/8599414-corzine-top-obama-fundraiser-under-fbi-investigation?ocid=twitter">MSNBC</a>,&nbsp;</em>11/2/11)</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Corzine Played A &ldquo;Central Role&rdquo; In Obama&rsquo;s Wall Street Fundraising Efforts.</strong>&nbsp;&ldquo;His new legal troubles, sparked by the bankruptcy filing of his investment firm, MF Global, could complicate the president&rsquo;s efforts to raise money from the financial community given Corzine&rsquo;s central role in those efforts.&rdquo; (Michael Isikoff, &ldquo;Corzine, Top Obama Fundraiser, Under FBI Investigation,&rdquo;&nbsp;<em><a href="http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/02/8599414-corzine-top-obama-fundraiser-under-fbi-investigation?ocid=twitter">MSNBC</a>,&nbsp;</em>11/2/11)</li>
<li><strong>Corzine Has Bundled Over $500,000 For Obama&rsquo;s Reelection Campaign.&nbsp;</strong>(Center For Responsive Politics,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/pres12/bundlers.php?id=N00009638">Opensecrets.Org,</a>&nbsp;Accessed 10/31/11)</li>
<li><strong>&ldquo;Corzine Has Already Held A High-End Fundraiser And Organized A Secret Meet-And-Greet Between Finance Executives And Obama&rsquo;s New Chief Of Staff.&rdquo;</strong>&nbsp;(Peter Stone, Elizabeth Lucas, John Aloysius Farrell, Paul Abowd and Rachael Marcus, &ldquo;Obama Campaign Reports More Than 350 Big Bundlers, Including <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/solyndra">Solyndra</a> Figures,&rdquo;<em><a href="http://www.iwatchnews.org/print/7127">Iwatch News,</a></em>&nbsp;10/14/11)</li>
</ul><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/republicans-say-occupy-obama-2011-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/the-20-most-profitable-industries-in-america-2011-10The 20 Most Profitable Industries In Americahttp://www.businessinsider.com/the-20-most-profitable-industries-in-america-2011-10
Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:56:00 -0400Mary Ellen Biery
<p>With job growth so weak, a common question among people without jobs and even some who are currently employed is, &ldquo;<a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/where">Where</a> will the jobs be tomorrow?&rdquo;</p>
<p>One way to answer that question is to examine which industries are the most profitable, as money-making fields are likely to be attractive to entrepreneurs.</p>
<p>In addition, profitable businesses are more likely to be able to afford to add employees to help them grow.</p>
<p>Sageworks, a financial information company, <a href="http://web.sageworksinc.com/financial-statement-analysis/" target="_blank">analyzed financial statements</a> from thousands of privately held companies to find out which industries have been the most profitable in the last 12 months.</p>
<p>Private companies are important to study because they account for up to 70% of gross domestic product and about 80% of new jobs.</p>
<p>On a pre-tax basis, the most profitable industries were primarily <a href="http://www.sageworksinc.com/blog/post/2011/10/07/Sales-on-the-Rise-but-Unemployment-is-Steady.aspx" target="_blank">services-based businesses</a>. And if you&rsquo;re looking for a career, you might do well to heed Benjamin Franklin&rsquo;s observation that the only sure things in life are death and taxes: both funeral home services and accountants make the list of the 20 most profitable industries in the last 12 months.</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/4e9c598b6bb3f7806b000006/sageworks-image.png" border="0" alt="Sageworks Image" /></p>
<p>NAICS code 5239, Other Financial Investment Activities, tops the list with a 16.26% pre-tax net profit margin, according to the <a href="http://www.sageworksinc.com/cfo/cfo-ourdata.aspx" target="_blank">Sageworks data</a>.</p>
<p>This category excludes securities dealers and commodity contracts dealers, but includes other sellers of financial contracts and could include portfolio managers and those who provide trust, fiduciary and custody services.</p>
<p>Other top industries include <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/sageworks/2011/10/05/u-s-recession-effects-gnaw-at-dentists-business/" target="_blank">offices of dentists</a>, accounting/book keeping and payroll services, legal services, office administrative services, technical and trade schools and other health practitioners, which can include chiropractors, physical therapists and podiatrists.</p>
<p><a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/indeed">Indeed</a>, health services industries are frequently found on the top 20 list. In addition to dentists and therapists, other industries ranking near the top of the profitability list include outpatient care centers and death care services, or funeral homes.</p>
<p>Sageworks CEO Brian Hamilton said he believes health care, technology companies and information companies will continue to grow, based on macro trends affecting the U.S. economy.&nbsp; And despite the current 9.1% unemployment rate, Hamilton sees business owners adding workers as demand improves.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I think that over the long run, as you grow revenue, you&rsquo;re going to hire people,&rdquo; he said &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t believe that we will be permanently stuck at an unemployment rate that we all find unacceptable.&rdquo;</p>
<p>For additional information on promising careers, you can also look to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is updating its employment projections for various industries and is expected to publish a new outlook this spring. But the bureau&rsquo;s latest projections, last revised in 2009, show the following industries should have the largest wage and salary employment growth between 2008 and 2018:</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/4e9c5993ecad04b874000011/sageworks-image.png" border="0" alt="Sageworks Image" /></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-20-most-profitable-industries-in-america-2011-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/infographic-how-to-calculate-lifetime-value-2011-8INFOGRAPHIC: How To Calculate The Lifetime Value Of A Customerhttp://www.businessinsider.com/infographic-how-to-calculate-lifetime-value-2011-8
Fri, 19 Aug 2011 17:48:00 -0400oBizMedia
<p>One way to analyze acquisition strategy and estimate marketing costs is to calculate the Lifetime Value (&ldquo;LTV&rdquo;) of a customer. Roughly defined, LTV is the projected revenue that a customer will generate during their lifetime. In this graphic we&rsquo;ll briefly cover how to calculate LTV and how to use LTV to help solidify your marketing budget.</p>
<p>Click on the <a href="http://blog.kissmetrics.com/how-to-calculate-lifetime-value/?wide=1">image</a> below to view an enlarged version of this infographic.</p>
<p><br /><a href="http://blog.kissmetrics.com/how-to-calculate-lifetime-value/?wide=1"><img src="http://blog.kissmetrics.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/ltv-sm.jpg" border="0" alt="How To Calculate Customer Lifetime Value" /></a><br /><em></em></p>
<p><em>This <a href="http://blog.kissmetrics.com/how-to-calculate-lifetime-value/">post</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://blog.kissmetrics.com/">KISSmetrics</a>.</em></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/infographic-how-to-calculate-lifetime-value-2011-8#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/the-apple-investor-aug-1-2011-8THE APPLE INVESTOR: Apple Stands To Gain Billions From Legal Battles (AAPL)http://www.businessinsider.com/the-apple-investor-aug-1-2011-8
Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:24:09 -0400Heather Leonard
<p><em><strong>The <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/apple">Apple</a> Investor</strong> is a daily report from SAI. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-investor-newsletter-2010-2">Sign up here to receive it by email</a>.</em></p>
<hr />
<p><strong><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/4abd31bdde99a55227662c59/stevejobs-0909-1.jpg" border="0" alt="SteveJobs-0909-1" /><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/apple">AAPL</a> Up In A Tanking Market&nbsp; <br /></strong>After a weekend of frantic negotiations, Congress will finally vote to raise the country's debt-ceiling, averting a forced default. That said, the markets are off after manufacturing data (ISM) slowed to its lowest level in two years. Shares of AAPL are bucking the trend, up about 0.75%. Catalysts include the next <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/iphone" class="hidden_link">iPhone</a> launch this fall as well as a possible <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ipad-3-retina-display-2011-7"><span class="hidden_link">iPad 3</span></a> ahead of the holidays; continued adoption in China and other emerging markets; <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/icloud">iCloud</a> rollout and adoption; the continued evolution and next generation of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/apple-tv">Apple TV</a>; and new platforms such as books / publishing and social (<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/ping">Ping</a>). Shares of <span class="hidden_link"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/apple" class="hidden_link">Apple</a></span> trade at <a href="https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&amp;key=0Ak6JroN3wjs9dENhY2lvRWtZZy1DYmxFNTBoMFpVTnc&amp;hl=en_US&amp;gid=5">9.8x Enterprise Value / Trailing Twelve Months Free Cash Flow</a> (including long-term marketable securities).</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/07/28/apple-will-push-its-legal-claims-hard-and-unrelentingly/">Apple In Legal Battles For The Long Haul</a> (CNNMoney)</strong><br />Apple could convert courtroom victories to market gains worth more than $30 billion a year, argues Toni Sacconaghi at Bernstein Research. That is what is on the table for Apple in the spread of lawsuits against manufacturers of <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/android">Android</a> phones. Sacconaghi believes that Apple's "key goal is to upend Android's momentum by forcing a work around on key essential features which, if successful, could have huge, positive financial implications for Apple". He believes Apple has "more to lose" than its rivals, and a whole lot to win.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/07/29/apple_selling_half_a_million_apple_tvs_per_quarter_but_no_update_planned_for_q3.html">No Refresh For Apple TV Slated Before The Holidays</a> (AppleInsider)</strong><br />As dissatisfied consumers return purchases of rival set-top-boxes in droves, Apple's market-leading <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/apple-tv">Apple TV</a> continues to achieve moderate success, selling roughly 500,000 units per quarter as the 2011 holiday shopping season approaches according to industry checks by Concord Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Looking ahead to the second half of the year, Kuo said his industry checks have turned up no evidence that Apple plans to push a hardware revision of the Apple TV into production during the third quarter.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/07/30/leak_suggests_radio_shack_to_slash_iphone_4_prices_by_30.html">Price Cuts Come To iPhone 4, Now The Low-End iPhone</a> (AppleInsider)</strong><br />A number of reports are coming in that the <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/iphone">iPhone</a> 4 is going to see a price drop at a number of retailers this week. Radio Shack is planning to drop the price of the 16GB and 32GB AT&amp;T iPhone 4 to $169.99 and $269.99 respectively, while the price of the 8GB iPhone 3GS is expected to fall to $19.99.&nbsp; It may not be a sign of an iPhone refresh, this week, but it's a sign that the rumored low-end iPhone just might remain older models marked down.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.asymco.com/2011/07/29/apple-captured-two-thirds-of-available-mobile-phone-profits-in-q2/">Apple Accounts For Two-Thirds Of The Mobile Phone Industry Profits</a> (Asymco)</strong><br />Apple's share of the mobile phone industry's profits has swelled to around two thirds, as the company's iPhone sales have remained profitable while achieving the top spot in sales. Even before displacing <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/nokia">Nokia </a>as the world's top smartphone maker in the most recent quarter, Apple has long consumed a disproportionate slice of the industry's profits. Apple has gone from being responsible for half of the mobile industry's profits, to accounting for two-thirds of that growing pile of cash.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://pedrotp.wordpress.com/2011/07/29/pedro-torres-picon-apple-clearwire/">Apple Should Take Its Cash And Buy Clearwire</a> (Pedrotp Blog)</strong><br />In the past year or so, there has been a lot of speculation on what exactly Apple will do with the huge amount of cash (now over $76 billion) they have on their balance sheet. Pedro Torres Pic&oacute;n,&nbsp;Managing Director at Quotidian Ventures, believes a big, bold move that actually makes sense would be to use some of that cash to buy Clearwire&rsquo;s network assets and develop a nationwide wireless data network exclusively for their devices.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://idygest.posterous.com/apples-142-iphone-growth-outpaces-mobile-phon-6340">Apple Grew 12x The Mobile Phone Market Last Quarter</a> (Various via iDygest)</strong><br />According to IDC, the worldwide mobile phone market grew 11.3% year over year in the second quarter of 2011 with the worldwide shipment of 328.4 million units. Though still fourth among the top five mobile-phone players, Apple outshone its global rivals in the second quarter with skyrocketing shipment growth and a surge in market share. The company shipped 20.3 million iPhones in the quarter, a leap of 142% from the 8.4 million shipped in the prior year's quarter and easily posted the highest growth rate despite the fact that its flagship iPhone 4 is now more than a year old.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.bgr.com/2011/07/29/sa-agrees-apple-now-top-smartphone-vendor-in-the-world-with-240-growth/">It's Official, Apple Is The World's Top Smartphone Vendor</a> (BGR)</strong><br />Strategy Analytics agrees that Apple is now the top smartphone vendor with 140% year-over-year growth. The iPhone maker and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/samsung">Samsung</a> both sold more smartphones than <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/nokia">Nokia</a> in the second quarter, although Nokia still sold most phones overall. Nokia falls into the number three position worldwide as Symbian devices are left significantly overshadowed. It remains to be seen if <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/windows">Windows</a> Phone can stop the bleeding.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/07/28/sprint_posts_massive_subscriber_exodus_in_failing_to_compete_with_iphone.html">Daily Trader: Sprint Falls Without iPhone</a> (AppleInsider)</strong><br /><a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/sprint">Sprint</a>, without the iPhone, is struggling to keep in sight of larger rivals such as <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/verizon">Verizon</a> and AT&amp;T, both of whom are selling mad amounts of the Apple device. Shares of Sprint Nextel fell almost 20% after the company posted heavy wireless subscriber losses that underlined a failed strategy in competing with U.S. iPhone carriers. Sprint invested heavily to build a faster WiMAX <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/4g">4G</a> network, promoting the <a class="hidden_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/htc">HTC</a> Evo 4G as the first 4G phone in the U.S. last year.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-apple-investor-aug-1-2011-8#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/financial-profit-margins-2011-3SocGen On Why You Shouldn't Be Worried About Low Profit Margin Growthhttp://www.businessinsider.com/financial-profit-margins-2011-3
Wed, 30 Mar 2011 10:54:00 -0400Gregory White
<p>Typically, a slow down in profit margin growth would be a worrying sign about the strength of businesses within an economy, and suggest demand is down or costs or rising.</p>
<p>But that's not what the current slowdown in the U.S. is implying, according to Societe Generale's Aneta Markowska.</p>
<p>She writes that this profit correction is just a sign companies are now hiring and investing, rather than just cutting costs.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">The breakneck margin expansion during late 2009 and early 2010 was driven by unprecedented productivity gains which exceeded 6% at the peak of the cycle. <strong>Those productivity gains simply could not be sustained and are now giving way to employment growth</strong>. This correction in productivity growth may explain why the unemployment rate has corrected so sharply in the past 6 months despite more moderate output gains.</p>
<p>But financial profit margins are still booming, and according to Markowska, that's somewhat worrying.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Pre-tax profit margins are now above levels seen before the crisis. In the heyday of the credit boom, these levels were seen as a reward for efficient resource allocation which is at the heart of capitalism. In hindsight, the financial sector did a very poor job allocating savings. Not only that, it probably crowded out other potentially more productive undertakings. Nothing seems to have changed on that front.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/america-manufacturing-decline-2011-3"><strong>Don't miss: Deutsche Bank present the real story behind the decline in US manufacturing &gt;</strong></a></p>
<p>Note the recent (and long-term) divergence between the financials and broader market:</p>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/4d93430f4bd7c8643a3b0000/chart.jpg" border="0" alt="Chart" /></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/financial-profit-margins-2011-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/profitably-2011-3New York Startup Profitably Gets $1.1 Million To Make Life Easier For CFOshttp://www.businessinsider.com/profitably-2011-3
Wed, 23 Mar 2011 12:48:00 -0400Jay Yarow
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/4d8a1f4e49e2aed03a200000/adam-neary.jpg" border="0" alt="adam neary" /></p><p>Another member of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/general-assembly-tour-2011-1">New York's General Assembly</a> co-working space can brag about being funded.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/profitably" class="hidden_link">Profitably</a>, a software company that helps small businesses manage finances, just closed a $1.1 million round from a group of investors.</p>
<p>This is the second round of funding, but Profitably founder <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/adam-neary" class="hidden_link">Adam Neary</a> says he considers it a seed investment. Last year the company raised $300,000.</p>
<p>Profitably will use the money it raised to hire two more employees. It currently has four.</p>
<p>Profitable is targeting small businesses with 5-100 employees. It helps the people in charge of finances manage the company more easily. It takes reams of data that would be stuck in giant Excel files and simplifies it.</p>
<p>Neary says it takes a three day process that's super painful and makes it a thirty minute process. With the time managers save, they can focus more on strategic decisions for their company.</p>
<p>So far, Neary is happy with the traction his company is gaining. Profitably is only 1 year old and it has 500 customers.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/profitably-2011-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p>